TD Bank says it expects to beat earnings target in 2018

TORONTO (Reuters) – Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) reported first-quarter results which were ahead of market expectations, helped by a strong performance in the United States and Canada, and said it expected to exceed its earnings target this year. Canada’s second biggest bank by market value on Thursday said earnings per share, excluding one-off items, rose to C$1.56 in the quarter to Jan. 31 from C$1.33 a year earlier. Analysts had on average forecast earnings of C$1.46, Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data showed.

TD’s performance means that all of Canada’s ‘big five’ banks have reported first-quarter earnings that beat market expectations, brushing aside worries about Canada’s housing markets and stalling talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Chief Executive Bharat Masrani said the operating environment “remained favorable” in the U.S. and Canada, leaving the bank positioned to exceed its target of 7 to 10 percent earnings growth this year.

“While there are risks on the horizon, if these positive conditions persist, adjusted earnings growth for the full year may exceed our medium-term target,” he said in a statement.

The bank reported net income excluding one-off items of C$2.9 billion ($2.3 billion), up 15 percent, which it said reflected growth across all its businesses.

Net income at the bank’s Canadian retail business grew by 12 percent to C$1.8 billion, helped by loan and deposit growth and an increase in assets held by its wealth management business.

The bank’s U.S. retail business reported net income excluding one-off items of C$1 billion, up 28 percent on the year before benefiting from loan and deposit growth, higher margins and a lower corporate income tax rate.